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Gun, beer, phone and money at center of OPP contraband indictment

OPP video shows inmate checking out of jail and enjoying Bourbon StreetThis video was shown in a federal courtroom this morning in the ongoing trial over whether conditions at the Orleans Parish jail are unconstitutional. In it, an inmate is allowed to leave the Orleans Parish jail's House of Detention for a stroll down Bourbon Street, where he visits with strippers and others.

In the summer of 2009, Orleans Parish Prison inmates snuck in beer, money and a cell phone, and one of the prisoners -- a convicted felon -- got his hands on a gun, according to state prosecutors. Fourteen men were charged with contraband violations in a nine-count indictment announced by District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office Friday, a little more than a month after video footage showing New Orleans jail inmates ingesting drugs, guzzling beer and unloading a handgun in a cell was aired during a federal court hearing.

The indictment does not name any deputies in Sheriff Marlin Gusman's office, which is a conspicuous omission, in the opinion of a lawyer representing one of the men charged.

"You don't have any deputy involvement here?" asked Robert Hjortsberg, who represents Arthur Johnson, accused of two counts of contraband as well as one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Johnson, 36, is shown wandering on Bourbon Street and chatting up police officers, in the notorious video.

"Do you really believe they did it all on their own?" Hjortsberg said. "It seems disingenuous. I don't think that they can prove it. And I'm looking forward to dealing with it in court."

The sheriff issued a statement that said, "I am pleased with the results that followed my request of District Attorney Cannizzaro to investigate this matter impartially. My office cooperated fully with the district attorney on this investigation.

"Our office will continue to work with the DA to pursue prosecution of these individuals to the fullest extent of the law."

The indictment, meanwhile, claims:

- Joseph Allen, 61, possessed, brought in or tried to bring in unspecified contraband into OPP between July 13 and 18 in 2009.

- Scottie Adams, 46, possessed, brought in or tried to bring in unspecified contraband between July 13 and 18.

- Terry Rothschild, 21; Lester Jones, 30, who allegedly recorded the infamous OPP video; Rashan Hester, 31; George Anderson, 49; Clarence Raymond, 26; and Johnson possessed, brought in or tried to bring in money between July 13 and 18.

- Johnson possessed a handgun between July 13 and 18 after having previously been convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin. He has pleaded guilty to contraband and escape counts as part of a broader plea involving the drug charges for which he was originally put behind bars.

Supposedly, Johnson and Jones would come and go from OPP as much as they liked through a fire escape door by jimmying the lock. They reportedly would bring back with them drugs, booze, food, phones and, once, a gun they hid in a cooler.

The scandalous video that led to the indictment publicized Friday was played in early April at proceedings concerning a federal consent decree mandating reforms at OPP. The video footage received widespread play by media outlets, but Johnson's attorney said he thinks its use to prosecutors will be limited.

"There are so many elements they can't prove just based on the video -- first of all, whether it actually happened in a jail," Hjortsberg said. "They searched the jail and said they found nothing."